Erdoğan’s Reelection Likely To Mean Little Change in Turkish Policy on Israelis, Palestinians
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has just won a further five-year term to add to his two decades of rule, has been making efforts recently to reconcile with other countries, including Israel
A host of international leaders have sent their congratulations to Turkey’s incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after he won reelection in a runoff vote on Sunday to extend his two-decade rule by a further five-year term.
US President Joe Biden said he hoped to work with Erdoğan on “shared global challenges.”
Making no mention of recent tensions in the bilateral relationship, Biden tweeted: “I look forward to continuing to work together as NATO allies on bilateral issues and shared global challenges.”
Your victory in these elections is the logical result of your dedicated work as head of the Turkish republic, clear evidence of the Turkish people’s support for your efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and pursue an independent foreign policy
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has collaborated closely with Erdoğan on key international issues despite some disagreements, wrote that the Turkish leader’s win was “the logical result of your dedicated work.”
“Your victory in these elections is the logical result of your dedicated work as head of the Turkish republic, clear evidence of the Turkish people’s support for your efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and pursue an independent foreign policy,” Putin said, according to the Kremlin website.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Erdoğan to congratulate him, and wrote to him via Twitter, expressing his hope that the relationship between the two Middle Eastern nations would continue to grow.
“Congratulations to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey on his election victory,” he wrote. “I am convinced we will continue to work together to strengthen and expand the good ties between Turkey and Israel.”
Erdoğan, who was prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and then president from 2014, has been one of Israel’s most vocal critics and many Israelis are suspicious of him and do not view him as a friend. Tensions between the two nations have led to downgraded and at times frosty diplomatic relations, although they have never been completely severed.
In recent years, Erdoğan has sought reconciliation with other Middle Eastern countries and has restored ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as improved relations with Egypt.
Erdoğan is certainly no supporter of Israel, but he is a deeply practical politician who understands that developing good ties is the pragmatic thing to do
Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, an expert on modern Turkey at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University, told The Media Line that Erdoğan is seen as committed to the ongoing rapprochement with Israel. Yanarocak said the renewed relationship will be mutually beneficial to both countries.
Give the gift of hope
We practice what we preach:
accurate, fearless journalism. But we can't do it alone.
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
Join us.
Support The Media Line. Save democracy.
“Israel attributes great importance to its bilateral relations with Turkey,” Yanarocak said. “The elections should be considered as Turkey’s internal affair. Therefore, the Israeli decision-makers can only respect the will of the Turkish people and of course, would not make any comments before the final results. Any such comment could be counterproductive. For Israel, safeguarding the recently achieved normalization is above all other political calculations.”
Yanarocak said Israel was wary of Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, saying his position “was not seen as a harbinger of the new golden age between the two countries.”
“During his election campaign Kılıçdaroğlu threatened Israel with putting an end to the Mavi Marmara agreement that had been reached between the two governments,” Yanarocak said. “Erdoğan is certainly no supporter of Israel, but he is a deeply practical politician who understands that developing good ties is the pragmatic thing to do.”
Yanarocak said he was optimistic about the future of Turkey’s foreign policy.
“I think it is very constructive. After years of tense relations, Turkey recently launched a normalization blitz. Not only with Israel but also with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Building bridges should always be preferred instead of engaging in a conflict,” he said.
Yanarocak said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had also released a statement welcoming Erdoğan’s victory, saying he “will continue on the path of development and secure great achievements for Turkey and its people.”
Armed Palestinian group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip and has close ties with Turkey, released a statement congratulating Erdoğan and expressing hope for a new era of “strengthening Islamic-Arab ties and support for the Palestinian issue.”
Many Palestinian institutions, especially those close to Hamas, are based in Istanbul.
Dr. Ahmed Jamil Azm, an associate professor of international relations at Qatar University, and assistant professor of international relations at Birzeit University, told The Media Line that “with the victory of President Erdoğan, we are talking about the continuity of his policies towards the Palestinians, at least for the next five years.”
He said that under Erdoğan the Turkish position on Palestinians could be summarized in several basic issues.
“First, supporting the Palestinian cause politically and in the media by taking clear public stances against Israeli policies. Second, supporting the Palestinians politically and economically, whether by supporting the official Palestinian leadership, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, which opened the door to its media, research and humanitarian presence for its institutions and cadres in Turkey,” he said.
Azm said there had been a shift in Turkey’s approach to the Palestinians in recent years, by separating its “political and economic” interests. It is believed that about 30,000 Palestinians reside in Turkey on a permanent basis.
“There is a policy of separation between files and matters, for example, the Israeli and Palestinian file, where a supportive voice for the Palestinians will remain,” Azm said.
Turkish officials stress that the rapprochement with Israel will help provide aid to the Palestinians.
On the heels of the Arab Spring a decade ago, Erdoğan took an aggressive approach in the region, becoming involved in the civil war in Syria, starting a major quarrel with Egypt following President Mohamed Morsi’s ousting, and entering disputes with the UAE, with Saudi Arabia after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and with Greece, France, and Israel, among others. The dispute with Israel culminated in 2018 with Turkey’s humiliation of Israeli Ambassador Eitan Na’eh as he left the country.
Feeling the bite of political isolation as well as an economic downturn, Erdoğan has recently toned down his rhetoric and has pursued improved ties with many countries, including Israel, with which Turkey has since resumed full diplomatic relations.
Observers point to Erdoğan’s lack of reaction during the five days of fighting between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip earlier this month.
However, Azm said the Palestinian issue is still at the center of Israel-Turkey ties, and fundamental disagreements over it remain.
Azm said Erdoğan has a lot on his plate, including a Turkish economy that is in tatters, uncontrollable inflation, and a currency value spiraling out of control. He must also deal with the aftermath of the deadly earthquakes that hit a massive area in southern Turkey, where Erdoğan received a great deal of support during the runoff election.
Yanarocak said the factors that influence the relationship between Israel and Turkey are chiefly economic.
With over $8 billion of annual exports to Israel, and nearly 1 million Israeli tourists visiting Turkey every year, there is a lot to risk.
“Trade, tourism and also energy. Turkey acts as an energy hub that seeks to host all pipelines in the region. Israel discovered natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he said.
But he added that it all hinges on the existence of “mutual trust” between the two countries.
